Category Archives: News

Potentially dangerous behavioral traits are often noticed and even reported, sadly to no avail. In other instances, people notice something is awry; but for some reason, dismiss this behavior and fail to notify anyone about their suspicions.To some extent, both of these scenarios played out in the case of 19-year-old Nicolas Cruz.

Janice was asked to offer a reading at her friend’s wedding. She wanted to say yes, but she was so self-conscious in everyday social situations she feared a major social occasion like a wedding would be too difficult to manage.

The bride was very disappointed and a little angry, but she had no idea her friend was living in a world of social anxiety disorders that led her to feel extreme fear about being judged by others.

Janice had hidden the extent of her problem from friends but it had gotten worse in the past six months. Talking to new people at work was more challenging and anytime her boss assigned her a task that involved performing an action in front of others, such as handing out copies of a report, it terrified her. She had a persistent fear that her every movement was being watched and judged by others.

After finally consulting a therapist, Janice was able to understand more about social anxiety disorders. Sometimes referred to as social phobia, social anxiety can be a crippling mental health disorder.

The DSM-5 describes social anxiety disorder as “A persistent fear of one or more social or performance situations in which the person is exposed to unfamiliar people or to possible scrutiny by others. The individual fears that he or she will act in a way or show anxiety symptoms that will be embarrassing and humiliating.”

Signs of Social Anxiety Disorders

It may be time to get evaluated for social anxiety disorders if you have some of the following symptoms:

Self-consciousness and embarrassment or awkwardness in front of others

Nausea, blushing, sweating, trembling or rapid heartbeat in social settings

Inability to think of things to say (i.e., mind going blank)

Intense fear of judgment from others

Intense fear when having to deal with or meet new people

Avoiding social situations

How to Treat Social Anxiety Disorders

Psychotherapy is often the first line of defense to help with social anxiety disorders. Cognitive behavioral therapy, known as CBT, has proved useful for treating anxiety disorders. It can help change the way you think, behave and react to certain situations. It’s also found effective in group settings.

Common Anxiety Disorders

Social anxiety disorder is one of several anxiety disorders that can be long-term and impact your daily life. Here are the most common:

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

Feeling a certain amount of anxiety or anxiousness is normal and can happen in even mundane experiences, such as having to jam on the breaks to miss a speeding car or if you are running late to a job interview. Happy occasions like planning a wedding can create anxiety as well, but that is a short-term or situational condition.

Generalized anxiety disorder is a more persistent, long-term condition that involves:

Feeling on edge

Overwhelmed with worry

Fatigue and difficulty concentrating

Irritability

Sleep problems

Anxiety attacks

Panic Disorder

This is a condition that lurks as an underlying state of anxiety and can quickly and unexpectedly lead to recurrent panic attacks. Panic attacks are overwhelming moments of fear that includes physical sensations that can be very frightening, including:

Heart palpitations, pounding heart or rising heart rate

Shortness of breath

Choking sensations

Sweating or trembling

Feeling totally out of control

Fear about when the next panic attack will happen

Fear of places where panic attacks have happened in the past

A sense of impending doom

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

This is often associated with members of the Armed Forces who’ve been in active combat, but it can affect anybody who has experienced or witnessed a traumatic event. It can also impact people who have witnessed or heard of a loved being injured or hurt. It’s reported that 7.7 million Americans age 18 and older have PTSD. The symptoms include:

Irritability and angry outbursts

Difficulty concentrating

Startling easily

Trouble sleeping

Hypervigilance or always being on alert

Nightmares

Phobia

A phobia involves an irrational and excessive fear of a specific object, activity or situation. You may be aware that your fear is blown out of proportion but feel unable to control it. Distress can lead you to avoid anything that can trigger it. A deep fear of going into the ocean due to extreme worry over drowning ― or sharks ― can mean you’ll never set foot on a beach or in a sunny place. Or, it could be a specific phobia, such as agoraphobia; you may be deathly afraid of crowds, being in closed spaces, using public transportation or being alone outside of the home, so you never allow yourself out in the world.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

This involves intrusive thoughts that create anxiety and extreme discomfort. You may have disturbing images that you cannot get out of your mind. This condition also is known for urges and compulsions that cause people to engage in repetitive behaviors; for example, excessive hand washing and checking for locked doors continuously.

Separation Anxiety Disorder

This takes root in the earliest months of life when an infant has issues attaching to a primary caregiver because that person is distant, dismissive, unavailable or leaves them alone too much. The infant becomes clingy for fear their caregiver won’t come back. As the child grows, they become persistently anxious and worried about intimate relationships and fear being away from the person or people they love. A baby may become agitated if the person leaves the room; as an adult, it might manifest as anxiety when the person doesn’t get an expected text message or call from the person they love.

Anxiety Disorder Treatment

The first step is recognizing when you are dealing with social anxiety disorders or other anxiety disorders and seeking proper mental health care. Psychotherapy tailored to the specific disorder is a key approach to healing.

Every year, scientists, government organizations and other experts make progress in our nation’s battle against addiction. In 2017, several developments made news and helped people learn new facts about drugs.

Emotions are a healthy way to express how a person feels about an event or situation. But, emotions can become problematic when they are erratic, severely elevated or diminished for long periods of time. Erratic or dramatic swings in emotions can sometimes be an indication of a mood disorder.

The most common mood disorders are depression and bipolar disorder. According to a 2005 National Comorbidity Survey-Replication Study, nearly 10% of Americans aged 18 and older suffer from a mood disorder. Mood disorders can have a significant impact on relationships, and depending on the severity, may call for one or both partners to seek help from a mood treatment center. Continue reading →

What does it take to nurture and maintain a close bond with another person, and what are the stumbling blocks to having healthy relationships?

Whether a relationship is between family members, friends and coworkers or significant others, some men find it difficult to form and keep positive connections. What are the stumbling blocks to having healthy relationships?

Here we take a look at some of the issues men commonly face in their interpersonal relations, and we provide a few tips for how to have healthy relationships. Continue reading →

Talking to someone with depression or anxiety may feel like walking a tightrope, especially if you’ve never experienced either mental health disorder yourself. On the one hand, you want to be supportive and encouraging and to show that you care. On the other hand, you don’t want to accidentally make your friend feel worse. Here are some common sayings to avoid, and some suggestions of what to say instead: Continue reading →

Statistics clearly show that Hispanics who need treatment for mental health or addiction are less likely to get it than white Americans. We also know that Hispanics have poorer outcomes when treated for substance abuse and are less likely than whites to complete a treatment program. Many possible reasons have been cited for these disparities, including cultural differences, stigma, language barriers and other factors. A large study recently sought to better understand the disparities and came up with some surprising results. Continue reading →

Despite help available at Florida treatment centers, often for low or no cost, drug addiction continues to claim lives. In 2016 alone, over 345 people in Jacksonville, Florida died from a drug-related overdose. That statistic, which translates to nearly one person dying of a drug-related overdose per day, has alarmed city councilman Bill Gulliford. Continue reading →

Medical marijuana ads may be to blame for an increase in teen marijuana use, a study by the nonprofit,global policy think tank RAND Corp. finds. The new research is the first to explore the link between marijuana advertising and adolescent behavior.Continue reading →

For many addicts in recovery and participating in 12-step programs or rehab, steps eight and nine are the most dreaded. You are expected to list everyone you wronged because of your addiction and then make amends. To revisit the past and the people you hurt is a daunting task. How addiction affects the family is major, and facing family members who disowned you can be the scariest part.Continue reading →